Who should be the ‘voice’ of Talking Buses? The UK has voted…

In a poll carried out for Guide Dogs’ Talking Buses campaign, the UK voted Stephen Fry as the celebrity voice they would most like to hear on board the bus announcing their stop is coming up.

66% of people who responded to the survey said it would make bus travel easier if there were on-board announcements about where the bus is going and what stop is coming up.

We will now use these findings as ‘news hooks’ to get media coverage for the campaign.

Of the people who voted for a celebrity voice to give announcements, Stephen Fry was top with 14%, with Jeremy Clarkson second at 10%. The favourite female voice was Joanna Lumley with 9%, while 4% went for Cheryl Cole.

Perhaps surprisingly, 35% of respondents did not want to hear a celebrity voice on the bus at all. This reflects what has happened in the areas of the UK that have already introduced Talking Buses, where people with a local accent have been chosen to tell passengers where to get off.

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2050 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 25-27 January 2010. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).